Chicago’s Top Restaurants with Good Bars

Chicago Top Restaurants with Good Bars

Chicago’s culinary scene continues to enthrall and this year welcomed a slew of new(ish) and diverse restaurants that are also rocking good bars. Here are four to add to the list for your next trip to Chi-town.

Café Bonhomme

In case you missed out on a terrace perch at Beatnik on the River, fret not, as there’s always next summer, and sibling Café Bonhomme provides wintertime salvation. Riffing on the grand European and American bistros of a bygone age, the handsome day-to-night dining room and bar, replete with 50-foot Carrara marble bar and brass chandeliers pulls a post-work crowd with its stylish yet low-key vibe. Steered by the peeps behind hitmakers Fulton Market Kitchen and Black Bull, food also veers Continental-meets-USA with classic steak-frites and linguine & pork cheek ragu sitting alongside a double cheeseburger. Like the atmos, the cocktails are refreshingly creative yet unpretentious. 

Lonesome Rose

Appropriately situ’d on California Avenue, this light n’ bright Tex-Mex diner is straight out of So-Cal with its simple woody, plant-dotted decor and laidback atmos.The kitchen dishes up day-to-night staples from breakfast tacos to homemade guac n’ chips while craft tipples (and non-alcoholic bevvies) keep things lively. Dip downstairs to secret hideout Golden Teardrops for a seductive, after-hours retreat away from the scenesters.

The Pink Squirrel

Taking its cues from 50’s Midwestern diner, this kitschy-cool imbiber stars boozy milkshakes and retro ‘tails served in vintage drinking vessels by resident mixologist and owner Dustin Drankiewicz – ask nicely and he’ll also concoct you a custom tipple. Formica counters, leather booths and flock wallpaper are accented with nostalgic memorabilia, while a two-lane bowling alley provides the entertainment. Strike!

Tied House

For something a little more sophisticated, nip over to Debbie Gold’s glamazon Tied House in the Southport Corridor. Soaring, embossed n’ mirrored ceilings backdrop a polished, contemporary decor with lashings of wood, leather, brick and copper – this is a grown-up’s restaurant by Gold, who returned to Chicago after a 20-year stint in Kansas. Seasonal menus cover vegetables, sea and land with small and large plates running the culinary gamut from easy brunch fare (bagels and smears, eggs scrambled eggs, avo toast) to simple, flavoursome new-American plates for dinner. Add in an extensive menu of draft wine and beers, a pup-friendly three-season patio and cracking fireplace for cooler climes, plus live music bar Schubas Tavern next door and you have one of Chicago’s biggest hits of the year.

Café Bonhomme / 180 N Upper Wacker Dr / Chicago  / +1 312 526 3345 / 7am-10pm Mon-Fri / cafebonhomme.com

Lonesome Rose / 2101 N California Ave / Chicago / +1 773-770-3414 (no res) / 9am-midnight Mon-Thurs, 9am-2am Fri-Sat / lonesomerose.com

The Pink Squirrel / 2414 N Milwaukee Ave / Chicago / +1 773.904.8185 / 5pm-3am Sat, 5pm-2am Sun-Fri / pinksquirrelbar.com

Tied House / 3157 N Southport Ave / Chicago / +1 773-697-4632 / 5pm-11pm Tue-Thu, 5pm-12am Fri, 4:30pm-12am Sat  and 4:30pm–9:30pm Sun / tiedhousechicago.com